Help regarding weight loss

What is your current weight? If you are not losing weight you are eating too many calories. Plain and simple.

Exercise is great for your health and mental well being but will do little for weight loss. Also, you shouldn't eat calories back that you burn. Plan your meals and snacks around your work outs so that you have enough fuel to get through them, and also for recovery.

I know I'm not losing. I've gained weight back. I've already said I've been overeating. I'm 250. I just started using MFP again and I don't eat back my calories. But 1500 is too little.

Well, try it and see. If you're set on 1800, be vigilant, measure and log every single thing that goes into your mouth, and eat 1800 calories for a few weeks. See what happens. You might gain weight, you might lose weight, you might stay the same. Then adjust your daily calories accordingly. If you gain or stay the same, set your calorie goal to 1700/day and try that. Repeat as necessary until you find the calorie goal that puts you where you want to be.

However, remember it is imperative that you be completely 100% honest and vigilant with your tracking so that you know exactly what you're putting into your body. Otherwise all the "tracking" in the world won't help.

I will. I was afraid to go below 1800 because there are some workouts where I am burning well over 600 calories and I just don't want to plateau. I bought myself a diet journal but I also have MFP.

It's important to remember that most estimates for caloric burn with exercise are woefully inaccurate, so I would recommend that you not take that into account at all when you're logging in MFP.

Exercise is great and amazing for overall health, but it's a trap to think that it somehow earns us more calories to eat. (And I say this as someone who spends 1-3 hours a day doing high intensity exercise.)

Oh I agree. And I think that's what happens to a lot of people. They fall into the trap of they can eat more because they did a hard workout but it's not true.

I would never lose weight on 1800 calories.

In fact, I gain on anything over 1200. I know for certain because I have over 1300 days logged in MyFitnessPal -- I weigh and measure everything that goes into my mouth. That includes supplements.

I eat a low-carb/ketogenic diet.

I also walk and work out most days. Additionally, I am on my feet all day at work. I never ever deduct these from my totals. Ever.

I have lost 219 pounds and have maintained between 130 and 138 for 3+ years eating this way.

Thanks for the replies. You've all been very helpful.

It takes about 10 calories a day for a woman or 12 calories a day for a man to maintain one pound.

I found after surgery that I need 9 calories a day for each pound I want to maintain. For me to maintain 136 pounds, I can eat about 1200 calories a day. I get in an hour of exercise three times a week and also walk 10,000 or more steps a day.